The U.S. Treasury Department’s proposed implementation of the No Tax on Tips provision has raised concerns about whether pornographic content creators could wrongly benefit from this tax exemption. Recently Axios reported that the Treasury Department will include “digital content creators” in its implementation of the No Tax on Tips section of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). The details on which job categories will be included are preliminary but initial reports state this scope could include the pornography industry, including producers of sexually explicit content on platforms like OnlyFans.
The ERLC joined a coalition letter urging the Treasury Department not to extend the No Tax on Tips exemption to pornography platforms. In this letter we asked for clarification on that section of the OBBB:
Neither Congress nor the President could have anticipated that OBBB would be implemented this way. In fact, Congress and the President made their will clear in statute: only occupations “traditionally” receiving tips were to be under consideration. As Treasury Secretary, these two branches have tasked you with the responsibility of publishing a list made up solely of jobs that “customarily and regularly received tips on or before December 31, 2024.”
OnlyFans is less than a decade old. Its novel business model could hardly be considered “customary,” let alone “traditional.” In fact, the sole mention of “content creators” on IRS.gov is a 2025 reference to OnlyFans tax fraud, certainly no justification for exempting these content creators from taxes on tips.1https://www.irs.gov/site-index-search?search=%22content+creators%22&field_pup_historical_1=1&field_pup_historical=1 Rather than distort Congress’ language, Treasury should stick to the statute: providing tax relief for the waiters, hairdressers, delivery drivers, and other workers who make up America’s proud service industries.
We continue to advocate on behalf of Southern Baptists against government policies that would legitimize or financially benefit the pornography industry. This advocacy work reflects our commitment to protecting families and honoring the dignity of all humans as made in the image of God.
“We urge the Treasury Department to ensure pornographic creators are not included under the Treasury’s definition of eligible entities. Our government should not give tax breaks to predatory industries that profit from exploiting young men and women, destroying marriages, families, and lives.”
Coalition letter
Response from the U.S. Treasury Department
In response to the letter, Secretary Bessent clarified that pornographic activity is explicitly excluded from the list of eligible tipped occupations stating “any amount received for illegal activity, prostitution services, or pornographic activity is not a qualified tip.”2https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-18278.pdf We are grateful for this clarification that supports healthy families.
What Southern Baptists Believe about Pornography
God’s Word teaches the inherent dignity of every human being and the God-ordained purpose of sexuality. Pornography’s very existence degrades human dignity and distorts God’s good design for sexuality.3https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/outlaw-pornography-now/ At the 2025 Annual Meeting, Southern Baptists passed a resolution On Banning Pornography affirming:
Scripture teaches that God created human sexuality to be enjoyed exclusively within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6) and commands his people to “flee sexual immorality”.
“God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.” “Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.”4https://bfm.sbc.net/ The Baptist Faith & Message affirms the biblical teaching of marriage and family as creation ordinances and blessings from God, foundational to human flourishing. As our nation continues to grapple with the realities of the sexual revolution and radical gender ideology, we will continue to advocate for policies that maintain God’s good design for life together.
